Onundarfjord Pier

Most Icelandic beaches are black, so the pale gold of Holtsfjara stands out. It lies at the farm of Holt near the head of Önundarfjörður, a broad stretch of light sand and grassy dunes with a small pier reaching into the shallows. On the calm, bright days that do reach the Westfjords the water turns a startling blue, and locals half-joke it feels Mediterranean for a day or two each summer. Flateyri sits across the fjord below a ring of mountains, and nothing is built up here — no ticket, no café, just sand, birds and water.